Charities call for free wraparound care to tackle cost of living crisis
Nicole Weinstein
Monday, July 11, 2022
Universal funding for before and after-school clubs could “significantly” boost the income of disadvantaged families, new analysis has found.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Magic Breakfast are urging the government to fund free wraparound care in primary and secondary schools in England so that families have more opportunities to work if they choose to.
Their analysis shows that a low-income lone parent moving from part-time to full-time work would be £1,200 per year better off through the removal of childcare costs gained through free wraparound care.
Without free provision, they lose over half the extra income to childcare costs.
CPAG previously estimated it would cost the government £2.6bn a year to roll this out in all primary schools in England and an additional £525 million for secondary schools.
Nearly one in five schools have no breakfast provision and for those that do, more than half report that there are barriers to pupils accessing them, including lack of school funds and staff.
As an urgent first step, the charities are calling on the government to invest £75m in new funding to allow breakfast provision to reach 75 per cent of schools with high levels of disadvantage.
Kate Anstey, head of CPAG’s Cost of the School Day programme, said: “The government could make a big difference to children and to struggling families if it stepped in with increased central funding for before and after-school provision. And with millions of family budgets on a knife-edge, now is the time to do it.
“Supporting the well- being and life chances of children should be the nation’s number one priority. The government must stop leaning on stretched school budgets and commit to this investment.”
Previous research has shown wraparound provision boosts pupils’ learning outcomes and life chances.
Lindsey MacDonald, chief executive of Magic Breakfast, said: “Scaling up breakfast provision funding alongside other out-of-school activities will help to ensure every child and young person has an equal start in life.
“Not only will this remove hunger from the classroom it would protect investment in education by improving attendance, behaviour, and attainment. The government investment needed would pay for itself many times over in the increased economic opportunity it creates for young people and their families.”
